


The Ray of Sunsine on Lian Yu

by EvilSlicey



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Airplane Crashes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Oliver Queen, Bisexual Ray Palmer, Cinnamon Roll Ray Palmer, Eagle Scout, Lian Yu Island (Arrow TV 2012), M/M, Oliver Learning to Survive, Oliver Queen Has PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Oliver Queen, Strangers to Lovers, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-11-15 09:18:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18070670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilSlicey/pseuds/EvilSlicey
Summary: About a month after defeating Fyers and stopping the crash of a certain airliner, a large storm brings down a private jet in the waters of Lian Yu. Oliver, being Oliver, risks his life in order to save any survivors on board.There was one, and that man will change his time on the island.





	1. The Crash

**Author's Note:**

> So i had this prompt about a plane crash and another about someone on an island saving a scientist.  
> And this happened...

Oliver leaned against his bedroll around the fire he and Slade had built earlier in their shelter in the fuselage of the downed plane. Their dinner of fish and foraged wild plants was long since been eaten and clean up, and the evening was left to maintenance of their gear, weapons and clothing.

Oliver had long since finish oiling the bow and sharpening his arrows and was at a point where he was too tired to examine every piece of cloth around him and too awake to just pull his make shift bedding out to curl up to sleep by the fire. He knew part of it was the storm raging on outside the walls of the plane filling him with memories of the _Gambit_ and his father’s death.

Instead he idly sharpened his knife while Shado and Slade where working on their own weapons and gear while talking too softly for Oliver to really hear. Oliver watched the looks that passed between them and softness in their gaze and felt twinges of jealousy in his gut.

He missed seeing and feeling something like that with someone.

He finally was about to give in and force himself to sleep while the warmth of the fire was still available when outside the plane there was a loud crack of thunder followed by the sound of an explosion in the distance. All the survivors in the plane stiffened and turned to the entrance of their shelter, looks of nervousness and concern clear on their faces.

“Was that one of the mines?” Shado asked lowly as Slade grabbed his sword and moved to the entrance with Oliver close behind.

“Too far, too muffled.” Slade said quietly as he examined the tree line with his well trained eyes. Oliver nodded to him when Slade looked back at him with a questioning look and slinked past the entrance, using the shadows to hide his presences as he took in the perimeter. There was more thunder and lightning rocking the world around him as the rain seemed to fall harder and harder.

Slade joined him and they swept the ground around the fuselage, determined to ensure their safety after their long fight against Fyers and his men. When they saw no sign of other life through the pouring rain the two men decided to head back to the fuselage so they can sweep the surrounding area in the morning.

It was another large crack of thunder following a lightning stick hitting a tree in the distance that stopped the men in their tracks. The lightning had illuminated the sky, revealing the outline of a high-end jet to them for the first time.

Oliver had a moment where he wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before as the flaming wing remained visible even after the lightning has dissipated. Through the torrent of rain, he thought he could hear the engine struggle as the jet seemed to waver in the air as it struggled to keep flying.

The two men watched as another bolt of lightning hit the jet again and it lost its struggle and started a dramatic decent.

Oliver realized with a heart stopping gulp, that the plane was heading straight for the same lagoon where he has washed up on shore months earlier.

Once he lost sight of the plane, Oliver acted without a second thought.

Oliver started running to the lagoon at full force, ignoring the calls from Slade and Shado behind him as he made his way to the crash. He knew it was stupid but if there was anyone still alive on that plane, he had to help them.

The trip to the lagoon went faster than it ever had been before, though it could have been the adrenaline pumping through his veins like some kind of speed drug. All that mattered to him was getting to the plane and seeing if anyone was savable.

When he got to the lagoon Oliver had to stop to take in the scene.

The waves where are a high or higher as the ones on the night the _Gambit_ sank. The rain had either started to fall harder and faster or the internal terror of the scene made it seem so. Lightning still continued to light up the sky, strikes hitting a tree not far to his right. The thunder seemed to be an unending roar in his ears.

The plane bobbed in the waves as flames danced along the spilling jet fuel. From the beach Oliver can see the wing had broken off and was not floating a bit away from the main body of the vessel. Black streaks decorated the white body of the plane, showing the places were the lightning had hit and finally took it down.

It took a wave washing over the plane and hiding it from sight momentarily to spur Oliver into action again, running down the remaining sloop of the beach and diving into the water to swim out to the sinking plane.

Oliver had a moment to thank his mother for insisting on swimming lessons when he was a child as he struggled against the waves to the cockpit door. He grabbed a handle above the door and tried to open it as the waves sent the plane rocking with him now on it. The door resisted his efforts at first, leading to him kicking at the handle until the door finally cracked open.

With one last deep breath, and a need to hold on for his life as another large wave sent the plane rocking as water crashed on top of his head, Oliver swung his legs into the interior of the ship.

In the plane Oliver looked around briefly to ensure he wasn’t about to be attacked or otherwise injured before he could look around before he moved to the pilots in the front. The front console was smoking and crackling with damage from one of the lightning strikes. The pilot was slumped over the steering column, eyes staring wide and lifeless into nothing. Oliver pulled away from the body and turned to the passenger area.

Oliver counted three passengers in the main area, water beginning to lap at his ankles as he moved forward to check on them. Oliver didn’t even bother to give the first man more than a causal glance; the blood and unnatural angle of the man’s head was enough proof of the man’s living status for him. Pushing to the next row Oliver stopped and stared.

Objectively he knew the similarity to his father was minimal, maybe no more than similar age and build. However, as he stared at the man his brain was consumed with the memory of his father and his actual death when faced with what he would swear to his dying day was his doppelganger. It was a loud crash, something falling over towards the back of the plane that snapped Oliver from his flashback and spurred him to finally check the man’s pulse.

The cold feel of the skin and the way the body lulled over when he touched it was enough to add a few new nightmares to his collection.

Oliver almost gave up, sure now that he had seen that three out of the four people in the plane were dead that all of them had to be a lost cause. It was one last look at his fake father’s face that made him continue on to the last passenger, determined to finish his self-imposed mission. If there was even a small chance there was a survivor, he had to check him.

He almost didn’t check the last man’s vitals when he turned to him. The man was close to his age, tall, handsome, blood on his forehead and cracks on the window next to him making it clear where it came from. Oliver made himself reach forward and press fingers to the pulse point on the man’s neck.

The steady thrum of the man’s pulse made Oliver pull away in shock. Oliver took a second as he blinked in confusion at the fact he had actually found a survivor to examine the man, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the steady rise and fall of the man’s chest, his breathing regular and further proof he was alive.

Oliver spurred to action with that realization.

He checked the other man’s pulse again, reassuring himself at the man’s status then looked around at the scene to determine how to get him out of the ship safely. He was dismayed to realize the water was more than just lapping his ankles as the plane rocked with the waves but now steadily surrounding them in a warning of the tenuous situation. Oliver suddenly remember ever such plane he had ever flown on and moved to an area behind the passenger.

Opening a panel, he sighed in relief as the emergency supplies stash there revealed themselves. He grabbed it all, a raft similar to the one that first brought him to the island, some life vests, a first aid kit with supplies and flares. Dragging the equipment to the man he got to work.

Quickly he pulled out his knife and cut away the seat belt around the man’s waist, catching him when he slumped forward once the support was lost. With inexperience and unsure hands, he strapped a life vest to the man’s chest as he struggled to manipulate the solid mass of dead weight. Once he had the first one in place, he strapped a second to himself and tied two more around the other man’s arms for extra support.

Oliver braces himself against one of the other seats, pulling the man from his seat with a strained heave, and pulling him to towards the door. He smiled to himself as he successfully navigated the slowly flooding plane and the ever-increasing number of debris coming lose around his ankles and shins. When he got to the door, he stopped to deploy the raft and stilled when his hands touched the strap.

Looking over at the dead passengers one more time a thought hit him, and he quickly leaned the survivor against the fuselage wall. Quickly he started searching through the pockets of the men he finally found it. The cellphone was a heavy weight in his hand and Oliver quickly raced back to the door and found a plastic bag in the emergency supplies to wrap around the device.

Shoving the device into his shirt he deployed the raft outside the plane and grabbed the survivor to flop him on to the bobbing piece of rubber. He jumped in the raft himself and found a plastic deploy-able paddle to start moving him to the shore. He was barely three feet from the sinking plane when a wave crashed over it and pushed them closer to shore while drenching them with salty spray.

Looking back Oliver saw the plane take on more water than before, the waves cause the plane to flip. As another large wave washed over the plane, bracketed by several lighting strikes lighting up the sky like pyrotechnics show, Oliver watched the as the vessel disappeared from sight.

It felt like the sinking of _The Gambit_ all over again.

Oliver stated paddling harder back to shore, his gaze traveling between the shoreline hidden by the waves and rain, visible only by the imposing silhouette of the island cast by the lightning, and the man still breathing steadily at his side. The only thought Oliver let himself have was to worry about the cut bleeding still on the man’s forehead.

Oliver wasn’t sure how he did it. His adrenaline was definitely crashing after a few minutes of paddling, the exertion of his trip to the plane on top of his average daily activity and the budding sleep he was ripped from washing over him with each stroke. He felt the sway and tumble of every wave, the spray of rain heavy on his face and saltwater laden clothing, his lungs heavy as he gasped for breath. The waves continued to smash into the raft roughly, make it feel sometimes like he was paddling under the water instead of on top of it.

He heard shouts on the wind, spurring him on-wards to the shore and his friends. He didn’t want to die on the water, not after so much work.

He was shocked when he felt the scrap of sand under the bottom of his raft. He tried to pull himself out of the raft but the exhaustion that had been spreading through his limps finally fell on him like a heavy weight and he could only collapse on the bottom next to the man. He was about to try to call out, let his friends know in some way that he was fine, that he was there.

He was surprised when before he could he felt the raft being hauled shapely to once side and Slade’s face was illuminated by the lightning. He smiled faintly when he saw the relief on his friend and mentor’s face. Slade may have said something, the waves and wind too loud and strong for Oliver to catch the words, but he did pat Oliver on the shoulder before the raft gave another jerk. It took Oliver a second to realize that Slade was pulling them to shore.

Quickly Oliver and the raft were hauled on the rock and sand filled beach, Shado joining Slade with her hood pulled up over her head. Oliver tired to climb out of the raft as they hauled him and it as far up as they could, stopping just before the tree line. Oliver flopped out of the raft and coughed for minute, shook starting to take hold and his body feeling the cold.

“What were you thinking Kid?” Slade asked gruffly as he hauled up the younger man and examined his features. Oliver felt a bit of warmth in his chest at the concern and glanced back to the man he saved still in the raft.

“Thought there could be survivors. I was right.” Oliver said weekly as he leaned against the older man.

Slade didn’t reply as he checked over Oliver for injuries. Oliver looked over to the raft, watching Shado examine the man he pulled from the plane. He felt the anticipation tensing up between him and Slade as Shado’s examination was more in-depth than his was.

“He’s alive, probably has a concussion but the blood loss doesn’t look to bad. Head wounds just like to bleed.” Shado informed them with authority before she moved over to check on Oliver with Slade. When she was confident that Oliver was in fact alright, she hit his shoulder. “What were you thinking!? You should have waited for us!”

“I’m sorry, I had to act. The plane sank so fast, if I had waited, he might have died.” Oliver apologized, surprised by how weak he sounded. Shado looked concerned and checked his pulse. She looked at Slade with alarm, ignoring Oliver’s quizzical look.

“I think he might be going into shock from all the exertion and the cold.” Shado said before she pulled away to got back to the raft. Above Oliver Slade cursed and pulled him closer to his body.

“We got to get you warm Kid, think you can make it back to the hideout?” Slade said almost gently making Oliver nervous. Slade wasn’t gentle.

“I can try.” Oliver said honestly, thinking he could walk but feeling exhaustion seep into his bones.

In the raft Shado managed to rouse the man who was sitting up with bleary eyes and a confused look on his face. He swayed in his seat as he looked around, blinking at the three island dwellers like they were aliens from another planet.

“Where am I? What happened?” The man drawled sleepily, looking like he was about to vomit at any moment. Oliver guessed it was the head injury.

“There was an accident.” Shado told him steadily as she checked his eyes. “You survived and are as safe as you can be right now. Do you think you can stand up? Walk?”

“Maybe? What about… I was with people? What happened to them?” The man asked as he tried to stand up but stumbled against Shado as he did so.

“No one else survived. I’m sorry.” Oliver said before anyone had the chance to look at him for answers. He shook his head, trying to get the sight of those men, the man who could be his father out of his mind. It didn’t work but it did make him feel more awake for a bit.

The other man let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a groan, his grip tightening on Shado as she struggled to haul him to his feet. Shado let the man drape over her shoulders and grabbed the survival gear in the bottom of the raft. She walked him over Slade and Oliver.

“We have to leave the raft, I don’t think we can get Oliver and this man back to the plane with it.” She quietly informed Slade. The three of them looked at the raft briefly, the small vessel being a beacon of hood for the marooned. Leaving it, even for just a night for from the water, was hard.

“It’s no good to us if we are dead.” Oliver reassured quietly as more lightning lit of the sky and branch crashed about fifteen feet away from the wind, all reminding them of the danger in the weather. The other two nodded and moved to action. Slade left Oliver’s side, trusting him to get himself to the hideout under his own means, and taking his rescue’s other side and shoulder more of his weight.

Oliver took the supplies he grabbed from the plane from Shado and let them lead the way back through the forest. They carefully navigated the way along the path to the fuselage. Oliver seemed to catch every low hanging branch, root, rock and divot on the way, tripping, stumbling and falling repeatedly as they went.

When he got back to their home, he collapsed next to the fire, still burning from when he left earlier, neither of his companions taking the time to bank it before they left.

He felt himself start to lose conscious as Shado and Slade moved around him to lay the new man besides him. Oliver let a last weak laugh at the fact he saved someone. Now he just needed to keep him alive


	2. New Survivor

It was the sound of birds that sent Oliver jerking awake in the morning. He stared around the fuselage confused by the sun light shining in through the gaps along the wall, Slade and Shado usually woke him before sunrise. The man sitting in front of their fire pit sent the night before flooding back.

Oliver suddenly wanted to make sure the other man was OK.

“Hey, where are Shado and Slade?” Oliver asked, his voice gravelly with sleep and his body filled with aches from his rescue mission the night before.

“The woman and the scary man? They went to go get the raft and anything that washed up from my plane about 30 minutes ago. They were worried that you could be sick from the swimming last night and let you sleep.” The man smiled and moved to sit next to Oliver bringing him a cup of Shado’s tea and a bowl of the root meal porridge that he and Slade usually made each morning. “Morning by the way.”

Oliver laughed at the bright smile on the man’s face and took the food that his stomach told was very appreciated.

“How’s your head?” Oliver as took a long sip of the scalding hot tea, sighing when he felt the warm soaking into his body.

“Hurt, probably have a concussion but I’m not vomiting or overly dizzy, so I’ll probably not die today. Thanks to you. Dr. Raymond Palmer but you can call me Ray.” The smiling man, Ray, offered Oliver his hand who took it happily and shook it.

“Oliver Queen.” Oliver offered as took a solid scoop of his root porridge and groaned around the familiar earthy taste.

“Oliver Queen, as in son of Robert Queen of Queen Consolidated Oliver Queen? Who died last year?” Ray asked with surprise, his eyes moving as he took in Oliver again.

“Not so much dead but yeah, one and the same.” Oliver responded with a wary smile, the news that the world thought him dead not coming as a surprise.

“Wow, and your father?” Ray asked glancing around the fuselage like he expected the other man to pop up any second. Oliver gulped and shook his head.

“Just me.” Oliver responded softly, turning his focus on his food in an effort to avoid any further questions. He was surprised when Ray placed his hand gently on his wrist and rubbed slightly in a comforting manner.

“I’m sorry, that must be hard. I have no idea how you survived and lived through what ever you have, but I’m glad you did. You saved me after all.” Ray comforted softly, his smile softened and still radiating comfort. Oliver smiled back and moved his arm to squeeze his hand back before returning to his food. Ray didn’t push him for more information, seeming to be content to just let Oliver eat.

Oliver decided to tell Ray about the last year, so he would know what he was facing.

Oliver’s breakfast was eaten, more tea served between the two of them as they talked when Shado and Slade returned with everything they had been able to scavenge from the beach and the raft Oliver and Ray had used the night before, the temporary survival craft in pretty good condition, only a little dirty from the storm the night before. The pair looked at the two American’s sitting and talking quietly to the side with a bit of interest when they entered, the pair somber but happy to see their comrades return.

“Hey Kid, good to see you joining us in the land of living.” Slade smirked at Oliver as he placed a pile of equipment to the side and moved over to check on the younger man. “You feeling OK there?”

“Yeah, you could have woke me up before you guys left, I was able to help.” Oliver insisted.

“Take a break when you’re offered it Oliver.” Shado reprimanded as she dropped off her load. “Besides, there was much that washed up.”

“Think the raft could be useful?” Ray asked moving to look over what they had found, mostly burnout pieces of the plane, a briefcase and two suitcases.

“It’s not made for long distance travel. It could be useful for ballast if we want to try and build something in hopes of getting to the main land, but by itself its only good for collecting rain water.” Slade said coldly as he examined the new survivor in their home.

“Well I could see what of all of this is salvageable and see if I can make an emergency beacon.” Ray offered with a smile as he started taking a part a burned-out piece of equipment with some dials on it that could be a radio or an alarm clock. The sight triggered some realization in Oliver sending him to search in his pants for the plastic wrapped phone.

He ignored the funny looks Shado and Slade gave him as he finally pulled the plastic from were it had tried to fuse to his skin and revealed the phone he had saved along side of Ray. He held it up with a bit of triumph he felt he deserved.

“Is that…?” Shado raced forward and crabbed the piece of tech from Oliver’s hand, looking at it like it was the holy grail.

“You grabbed a phone Kid?” Slade asked with a bit of reverence and excitement in his voice as he watched Shado unwrap the device and looked it over.

“It seems like a good thing to grab. It any good?” Oliver asked fighting down the blush that threatened to creep up from the looks of praise from his friends. Ray move forward to look at the device in Shado’s hand, his face a light with interest.

Oliver couldn’t help but stare at the other man, his demeanor and personality so different from those he had been living with. Oliver found it intriguing,

“It’s dead.” Shado sounded disappointed.

“Did you grab it from Charles Chen?” Ray asked offering his hand to take the phone from Shado, who ignored him and handed it to Slade instead.

“If that was the Asian man sitting closer to the cockpit then yeah.” Oliver snickered, seeing Ray’s mild offense cross his face at being ignored.

“He was my translator and was having trouble with his cell phone battery the whole time. If we had a different energy source it might be able to get a signal, or we could use it as our interface. That is if I could look at it.” Ray said, his word pointed towards Slade.

“And how do you know how do that?” Slade said with a sneer and hard look at the new man.

“Because I am an engineer and inventor who has worked with technology and building it since before you were old enough to want to kiss a girl.” Ray snapped then smiled and blushed. “Sorry, I mean, I build stuff it’s what I do.”

Slade chuckled and pocketed the device before he moved to grab some of his traps and weapons.

“Well then you can help me set up from traps if with Oliver.” The older man stated dryly. “We can play mad scientist after we know the storm didn’t knock out all the traps and get our dinner squared away. Come on kid, if your feeling human I could use a hand.”

Oliver placed his dirty bowl off to the side and rinsed out his tea cup in their make shift sink while Shado collected her own material. He smiled to himself when he saw how annoyed Ray still was at being dismissed by his friends and then dragged into doing something he didn’t want to do. The other man gave him a few glimpses of the man he use to be, in the little pout on his face and his kicked puppy posture.

“Hey Ray.” Olive broke the man out of his despondency and was rewarded with another smile when the man turned back to him. “If you want, once we are done checking stuff, I can take you to the old camp. Maybe you can find something worth savaging.”

Ray brightened up even more at the suggestion.

“Really? That would be great.” Ray crowed as he scrambled to gather some stuff, most his belt and shoes he had removed for comfort earlier.

“You sure about that kid?” Slade asked softly as Oliver gathered up his supplies and some bags to stick any resources he happened to come across while they worked. Oliver knew better than to leave anything edible or useful behind.

“Yeah, he seems safe enough, if he can help us get off the island all the better, and we don’t want him wondering around alone now do we? I know the camp was mostly destroyed but maybe we can find something. Plus, eventually he’s going to need something more durable than a suit. The camp still had some fatigues left in some of the tents.” Oliver explained as he shouldered the last of his load and squeezed Slade’s bicep reassuringly.

Oliver handed Ray some supplies to carry and helped Shado stick the pot with their prepared lunch under the still warm coals of their fire, placing some fresh fuel on top which started to smoke as they caught on fire. Shado had a quiet moment with Slade as Oliver and Ray finished securing anything they were going to need while the moved around Slade’s traps and safe guards.

Ray talked the whole time they worked, pointing out unique plant life and formations of rock. Within the first hour Oliver could see Slade’s eye begin to twitch and had to resist the urge to snicker at the mercenary’s inability to handle Ray. The best part was the fact Ray was able to fix things faster, identified more plants they could eat, and even caught a large lizard which he dressed seasoned with some of the sea salt Oliver had in his pack and stored away for their dinner.

Oliver on the other was enjoying having someone to talk to who’s whole life hadn’t been death, fighting and danger. Ray told Oliver about his work, which he didn’t understand at all but was amused by how excited he was about it, and his interests and even the budding relationship he had with a woman named Anna. Oliver in return was happy to talk about his life before the island instead of all the stress that was the island.

The sun was getting hot and high, signaling the change from late morning to early afternoon, when Ray learned about some the current dangers of the island and nearly gave Oliver a panic attack.

They were checking the traps along the edge of the path when Ray, distracted by a story he was tell Oliver about his current project (wearable tech) which was also distracting Oliver in return, stepped on a land mine letting a loud click that echoed off the trees and rocks along the path. Ray at least had the sense to stop dead in his tracks.

“Is that what I think it was?” Ray asked quietly, staring straight ahead as the color drained from his face. Oliver felt his heart rate ramp up as he took in the scene before him. He was too shocked to move.

“Don’t move.” Slade barked as he tossed his supplies behind a boulder and pushed Oliver towards the spot. Oliver stumbled over his own feet and landed on his ass next to large rock as Slade kneeled down to examine Ray’s foot.

“I wasn’t planning on moving but thanks for the concern.” Ray said in a slow steady voice that made his fear apparent.

“I just don’t want to get blown up because an excitable chihuahua was distracting us when he didn’t know all the details about this island.” Slade growled as he dug out his knife. “I think I can delay the explosion for a few seconds giving me enough to pull you off and out of the blast radius. But I can’t do it you don’t do exactly what I say, which right now is to shut your trap and stay fucking still.”

Ray blinked and moved his head for the first time since he stepped on the mine, glancing over at Oliver with wide terrified eyes. Oliver gave him a weak smile and began to take off his gear, stashing all their stuff safely behind the boulders around him, and getting ready to help. Once he made sure everything the could need to survive was safe, he moved to join Slade and Ray.

Before he could ask Slade if he could help, Ray grabbed his hand and held on to it in a death grip. Oliver was surprised and looked down at the joining of their hands like he couldn’t understand where this other hand came from. He looked up at the worried but weakly smiling Ray and smiled back with a squeeze of the man’s hand. The pair stood in silence for a solid minute while Slade worked.

Slade was the one that brought the two back to reality.

“All right, I think I got this rigged up. Oliver I’m going to need you to pull him toward the tree line to your left. I’m going to take his gear to make it easier for the puppy to move and get my ass behind the rocks. You will wait until my go before you guys move. Do you understand?”

“I understand.” Oliver said quietly squeezing Ray’s hand again, slipping his hand from Ray’s grasp and helping Slade remove all the gear on the other’s back.

“Oliver pulls me away and hopefully we don’t go boom. Got it.” Ray replied as he gave Oliver a weak smile and helped them men unburden him. Once Slade had all of Ray’s gear, Oliver moved to wrap his hands around Ray’s upper arm and moved into a position to pull him as quickly as possible, moving so that he could lock eyes with him while the waited.

Ray and Oliver stared into each other’s eyes intensely for what felt like an eternity, Oliver watching the fear wash over the dark brown irises in front of him as the other man shook a bit in anticipation. Oliver squeezed Ray’s arm again and gave him a weak smile.

“Hey. Its ok. I saved you once, I’m not going to let you die now.” Oliver murmured under his breath. Ray gave him a weary smile and nodded.

“I trust you.”

“Ok Kid. I’m I position.” Slade called out from the other side of the rocks.

“Count of three?” Olive asked with another soft smile seeing the fear wash over Ray’s face a new.

“Ye-yeah… can I count?” Ray asked weakly.

“Yes.” Oliver reassured.

Ray took a deep breath and moved his opposite hand over to grip one of Oliver’s hands on his arm. Oliver nodded and gave one last squeeze.

“One…. Two… Three!” Ray counted and Oliver pulled the man as hard as he could towards the tree line. He and Ray ran together, Oliver’s hand still holding on to Ray as they breached the tree line just as the mine went off. Oliver and Ray lost their balance at the blast and went tumbling together in a daze. After a few minutes Oliver came to his senses, realizing that Ray was laying on top of him, the taller man’s face buried into his chest.

Oliver blushed at the sight, his brain taking a minute to catch up with the situation. Panic washed over him as the world around him became clearer and he began to worry about the other man.

“Ray? Ray!” Oliver freaked out and began to shake the other man. The man groaned and opened his eyes with a dopey smile.

“Are we alive or is this some tragic after life?” Ray asked as he stretched against Oliver and rubbed his face into his shirt.

Oliver started laughing, partly from relief of surviving the situation, partly out of embarrassment from Ray’s slightly affectionate actions.

“Slade is right, you are a puppy.” Olive gasped out as he ran his hand through the other man’s hair and down his neck. Just then Oliver heard rustling and crashing through the foliage head towards him.

“Oliver! Kid! You ok?” Slade called as he came in to view sounding almost frantic. He stopped when he came upon Oliver and Ray still laying in a daze.

“I’m alive Slade. Got Ray out.” Oliver reassured finally sitting up with a groan making Ray sit up too with a wince. He held on to the other man with concern when he swayed sitting up and clutched his head.

“I’m fine, just running from a mine with a concussion isn’t the best idea.” Ray groaned before he leaned over to empty his stomach in the plant life of to his side. Oliver held the man until he finished emptying his stomach and was panting with the exertion. Olive held his hand out to Slade, who gave him one of their canteens which Ray used to clean out his mouth before taking a few sips.

“Once Puppy has gotten himself back together, we need to grab our gear and get back to the camp. Shado is going to be worried about the boom.” Slade said calmly, moving to stand guard over the pair and watching the surrounding forest for any threat. The survivors never fully trusted the island.

After a few minutes Ray seemed to get himself together, and Oliver was able to help him up to his feet to guide him back to their supplies. All three men collected everything quickly and made their way back towards Slade’s hiding place, Ray needing to stop every now then catch his breath and gag. Oliver never left his side, ignoring the curious watching eye Slade cast him when he stopped with Ray.

When the got back to the field with the plane they saw Shado burst from the other side of clearings tree line, stopping when she saw them before running towards them at full speed. Oliver smiled softly when she went straight to Slade, looking him over.

“I heard an explosion? What happened?” She demanded when she was reassured of Slade’s health and moved to Oliver and Ray. Ray smiled weakly and swayed again, leaning against Oliver who supported him.

“The Kid’s new Puppy was too distracted yapping to notice the mine. Had to rig it to delay the explosion for him.” Slade explained gruffly, pulling away form the group to head back to the plane with the supplies while Shado looked them over.

“To be fair I didn’t know there were land mines.” Ray responded with a slight whine. Shado checked his eyes and frowned.

“Well you still have a concussion and should learn to take in and take care of your environment.” Shado chastised coldly. “I don’t need to spend my time keeping another stupid American alive. I got my hands full with teaching Oliver already.”

“Shado, it was a freak accident and he was already sick. Give him time. We don’t have any enemies right now and he has time to learn.” Oliver was a bit more defensive than he wanted to be, but he was feeling protective of Ray, who had only been on the island one night and like him already had his life threatened. He would think Slade and Shado would understand.

“Fine, I’ll leave him to you. Get your stuff to the plane and get the lunch ready. Ray is base bound until I say so. Don’t need another death on our hands.” Shado ordered as she turned to follow Slade. Oliver sighed and took up Ray’s side to give him a it of extra support for the last bit of the trip.

“I’m sorry.” Ray said softly as he leaned against Oliver and blanched. Oliver waited a second to make sure he wasn’t going to be sick.

“Hey, I should have warned you about the mines so you would be on the lookout. Also, we should have let you rest a bit more before we took you around to check traps.” Oliver reassured.

“Bet this isn’t what you were expecting when you swam to that plane.” Ray joked weakly.

Oliver paused and fought down a bit of panic in his chest.  

“I didn’t expect anything.” Oliver said softly. “I just couldn’t sit back and not help any possible survivors. I am glad I saved you though.”

“Thank you, Oliver, really.” Ray was sincere and stopped Oliver to hug him briefly. Oliver stiffened in surprise but slowly found himself hugging back. The two men hugged for a bit longer before breaking apart and heading back.

Back in their base the pair put away their supplies, Ray finding Oliver’s bedroll and laying down once Oliver left him to his own devices. Oliver let Slade and Shado talk and take care of their weapons and supplies while he finished off the prep for the lunch they started earlier and put water on boil for tea. He even started Ray’s catch on to roast for their dinner to give the other two a bit longer to linger.

The four of them ate quietly, Shado and Slade finally asking Ray about his life and skills. Oliver say besides the new member of their group, watching him for signs of distress. The meal was the first time that day that Slade and Shado seemed to really appreciate Ray and his skills and knowledge. By the time they finished up they seemed satisfied that Ray wasn’t going to be the cause of their demise.

Slade and Shado left Oliver and Ray alone together, leaving after they ate to train and trusting Oliver to keep Ray alive. Oliver tended to Ray happily, worried about his health. He was happy to sit back and watch and care for the man than worrying about leaving him alone. It was one of the most enjoyable afternoons he had had for a while, Ray entertaining him.

“Hey Ray.” Oliver called when it was getting closer to sun down, knowing that Slade and Shado would return soon.

“Yeah Oliver?”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get to the camp today. When you are feeling better, I promise we will go. Maybe you can find something we missed.” Oliver assured as he started to prepare the base for the other two’s return and set up everything they would need to clean up. Ray stopped him after a second by grabbing his arm and hugging him again.

“Thank you, Ollie.” Ray whispered and pulled away sharply when the sound of the others returning drifted in.

Slade and Shado had the courtesy not to point out Oliver’s blush, or ask about what had happened there, their base cleaner than usual. It was for the best because Oliver had no clue why he was blushing and why seeing Ray smile at him made his heart pound. His world was never simple since he got to the island.


End file.
